


The Last of the Rising Dead

by postal_ech



Category: Dead Rising, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Family, Gen, Massive Crossover, Short One Shot (?), one shot (?)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2018-12-31 13:20:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12133371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/postal_ech/pseuds/postal_ech
Summary: It was supposed to be your average Zombrex run. At least, for Chuck Greene it was...That is, until he's mugged by a red-headed girl at point blank. With his score of Zombrex gone he, along with world-renowned survivor, Frank West, will have to get it back...and quickly at that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's only been about two days since I ported my last story here, but I thought it would be good to bring in this short litems story over here as well.
> 
> As I stated on Fanfic.net, this is supposed to be a short one-shot detailing what could happen were these characters thrown together in a similar situation (IE Ellie and Clementine thrown into a zombie apocalypse of their own). It was a small idea that came to mind while writing 'Misplaced in Time' and I thought "eh, why not?"
> 
> As I also stated before, this will just be a short one-shot. But, if there's enough support to go around (or hey, maybe if I feel like it, one of the two) I'll see about expanding upon this a little more. Otherwise, hope you all enjoy this threesome of a crossover.

Fortune City. A place where one could win it all one second, then lose all of it the next. Where poor men are made millionaires and millionaires are reduced to nothing. All of this could happen within a single night...well, except for the Zombie Outbreak that ravaged the city as a whole. Barely anyone made it out of the initial onslaught, and those that did make it out would be left inside the various safe houses that dotted the city. Then there were those that weren’t so lucky, those who never made it to the safe house before the doors were sealed. Those people usually ended up blocking off some small section of the city, from an abandoned pizza parlor to a kid’s toy shop and more. Chuck’s job was simple: Find these survivors, bring them back to the safe house, and maybe figure out what the hell happened in the process. Problem is he has to deal with not one, but two infected individuals: Frank West, photojournalist and veteran survivor of the Willamette incident, and Katey Greene, his own daughter. So not only does he have to escort survivors back to the safe house, but he also has to contend with getting two doses of Zombrex back as well; a feat made increasingly difficult with looters running amok, taking what they can (including the expensive drug itself). Chuck growls a bit as he realizes he needed more Zombrex for Katey and Frank, and begins his supply run out towards a nearby pharmacy. Luckily for him, the place wasn’t completely ransacked, and there were barely any zombies nearby to cause him any trouble. With that in mind, he checks to see if the doors were locked, which they would be, and so he looks around for something suitable to smash through it.

 

Eventually, he grabs himself a trash-can heavy enough to shatter the glass on the doors, and he proceeds to throw it with all of his might. Luckily he threw it with enough force that it would break the glass on the door, but the noise that it made would definitely attract trouble. Quickly, Chuck sprints into the pharmacy and makes his way towards the back counter, vaults over it, and quickly crouches down in order to find a key to the storage room. If either by sheer luck or mere coincidence, he would manage to find the key hidden underneath a pile of pain killers, and with an ecstatic grin he quickly unlocks the door leading to the storage room. Inside he would find the usual medication for all sorts of ailments: cough medicine, more pain killers, cold and flu medication...and Zombrex. About five or six boxes, a rare find even by his standards.

“ _Nice_!” He thought to himself, as whoever had the money to stock up this much Zombrex must have been saving it for something. Like a bolt of lighting he zips over towards the stockpile, stuffs as much as he could into his bag and makes off with the surplus of the magic drug, dodging loose stragglers as they shambled on towards the pharmacy.

 

After Chuck makes sure the coast was clear, he lets out a sigh of relief and feels his bag. A find like this was worth celebrating back at the safehouse, so he made sure to grab a bottle of wine on the way out of the business district. Before he could continue on towards the safe house, someone cocks a rifle behind him and before he could even react, a girl’s voice harshly speaks to him.

“Hands in the air, bud. Right now.”

“ _Ah, crap_ …” Chuck thought to himself, and he slowly raises his hands into the air. Whoever was robbing him would walk forward a bit, perhaps close enough to make a fatal shot if she could.

“Turn around, slowly. Make any sudden movements and I’ll blow your goddamn head off.” The girl commands. Not wanting to die before he figured out who started this whole thing, he complies to the girl’s demands and turns around. To his surprise, this girl would turn out to be much younger than he originally envisioned, noting her height and appearance. Her shirt and pants were well worn, her face slightly dirty here and there with her greasy red hair tied back into a rough ponytail. She also had various markings on her face, most notably a scar on her right eyebrow, but beyond that she looked like an average post-apocalyptic fourteen-year-old training a hunting rifle on him.

“Your stuff. Hand it over.” The girl says.

“Look, this is all I have here.” Chuck pleaded.

“Does it look like I give a shit?” she responds. “Throw it over here. Now.” Reluctantly, Chuck would unstrap the bag from his shoulder and tosses it over to the redhead's feet. Slowly, she crouches down and opens up the bag to see the five boxes of Zombrex, which catches her off-guard.

“Well well...been stockpiling since everything went to shit, huh?” She would say in a mix of sarcasm and mockery. “Well, don’t mind if I do.”

“Woah, woah, hold on a second. You can take what you want, but you gotta leave me the Zombrex. Please.” Chuck says

“And why should I?” She asks.

“Because that’s for my daughter. And...a friend.” Chuck states.

“Yeah? Well I need this stuff too, so that’s too bad for you.” The girl spits, and so she quickly zips up the bag and straps it onto her back.

“Wait wait, come on, why don’t we just split this? You leave me two boxes, and take the rest for your mom or dad, whoever.” The girl hesitates for a moment, almost as if she actually considers this option...but then she just shakes her head and backs away.

“No way. I need this stuff. All of it.”

“I’ve got an infected daughter! You can’t ju-” Suddenly, the girl fires a warning shot near Chuck, causing him to quiet down.

“Shut the fuck up man!” The girl yells, obviously agitated. “Say one more word and I will put a bullet in between your eyes, alright!?” Chuck nods silently, in order to prove that he understands. She backs up a bit, keeping the rifle aimed at his head.

“Now...if you follow me, I will kill you, got it? Don’t you dare come looking for me.” Just like that, she turns around and makes a mad dash towards parts unknown.

“Dammit!” Chuck yells in a frustrated manner. All that work, all that Zombrex, just to be taken away by some kid with a gun. Things would go from bad to worse when he hears his radio going off, and all he would do was groan.

“Great. Just what I need, a lecture.” Chuck would grab the radio and flicks it on, responding with “Yeah, what is it Stacy?”

“Hey, it’s Frank man!” A male voice responds through the radio. “Did you get the stuff? Any Zombrex?”

“Yeah, Frank, about that…” Chuck just hesitates, before he lets out another sigh, thinking to himself ‘This is gonna bite.’ He then says “...I was mugged, alright? Some kid had a gun on me an-”

“You got robbed?!” Frank would yell through the microphone, causing Chuck to recoil from the noise. Before he could even answer Frank’s question, he would be interrupted by more yelling.

“We only have five more hours until we need our next dose, Chuck! What were you thinking?!”

“Yeah, well making me deaf in one ear isn’t gonna help us either, Frank.” Chuck groans. “Can you check the security cameras? She just ran off not too long ago, we could catch where she’s hiding out.”

“...Alright...well, what does she look like? Hair color, eye color, face, anything?”

“Red hair tied in a ponytail, blue eyes, clothes that look like she came from an actual apocalypse, and she’s holding a bag full of Zombrex.”

“Well if that’s the case, let me see here.” Frank responds. After a few minutes of silence followed by Chuck finding a more secure position, Frank would get back onto the radio.

“Yeah, I saw her. She ran out towards Uranus Zone...looks like she’s hiding out in the...uh...theatre?”

“The Theatre? You sure there’s a theatre in the park?” Chuck asks, a mixture of doubt and suspicion seeped in his tone.

“Whatever it is, it looks like a Theatre. Look, I’ll go out and meet you there, alright? Seeing as how you can’t handle disarming a kid.”

“Hey, she had me at a distance, how the hell would I disarm her from ten feet away?”

“You could have used that imagination of yours.” Frank replies, and ends the transmission on that.

“What an ass.” Chuck would say aloud, stuffing the radio into his pocket. He then grabs what he could - that being a baseball bat, a metal pipe and a bag of chips for safekeeping - and makes his way over towards the famous space-themed park.

 

It took nearly an hour and a half to get to the theatre thanks to the amount of zombies that crowded around the entrance and the park itself, but once Chuck got through the crowd he would find Frank waiting for him, surrounded in zombie corpses.

“Well it’s about time, Chuck!”

“Chill out, Frank.” Chuck says, holding his bloodied baseball bat in hand. “You sure this girl’s in here?”

“Yeah, saw her run in by herself, before all these zombies came in and blocked off the door. You ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Chuck mutters, and the two bust through the doors. Inside the theatre was completely empty save for the few dead zombies that dotted the aisles. Frank would quickly sprint down the right aisle, looking for a door or something where this young mugger would be hiding.

“Hey! Keep it down!” Chuck ‘quietly’ yells to Frank. “She doesn’t know we’re here yet!”

“Okay, alright!” Frank ‘quietly’ yells back, and the two would begin to scour the theatre for any evidence of life. Eventually, Chuck would find a door leading to the upstairs area and carefully opens it. To his surprise, he hears the mugger softly talking to someone, though she would be too far away to hear anything of note. With that in mind, Chuck would slowly and quietly walk up the stairs, careful to not make a sound until he reaches the staff room. There, he would be able to hear the girl more clearly than when he was downstairs.

“Alright, hold still...it’ll sting a bit, but it’s for your own good…” she says softly, and the only response Chuck would hear was a small groan of pain. Soon enough he quietly opens the door to see the red-head applying some Zombrex to another, smaller girl wearing a red sweatshirt and a ballcap, the ballcap having a large pronounced ‘D’ in the center. She would also be covered in bandages, especially around her arms. She applies the needle to the neck of the smaller girl, who responds with a pained yelp.

“Hey, hey! It’s alright! Okay this stuff is good for ya, Clem, don’t struggle alright? Please…” As she attempted to calm this girl down, Chuck would slowly make his way towards the two, making note of the bag of supplies that sat at her right, while her rifle was sitting to her left. Before he was even inches away from grabbing the rifle, Frank bursts right on in and yells “There you are!” This catches her by surprise, and Chuck dives for the rifle. Soon enough the two of them would struggle briefly before Frank moves in to help. He quickly grabs the red-head by the arms and pulls her away from Chuck, struggling to keep her in his grasp.

“Let go of me, you fucker!” She yells, kicking and screaming in the process.

“Not until you calm your ass down, missy!” Frank yells back, still struggling to keep her in his grip. “Chuck! Are you gonna do something here or am I gonna have to hold onto her all by myself!” Groaning, Chuck takes a hold of the rifle and aims at the girl, saying “Calm down, right now! You’ve lost, alright?!” Seeing the fact that Chuck had a gun aimed at her, she slowly stops struggling, which causes Frank to let go of her. With her hands raised, she slowly moves over towards the wounded child and says “...Well...now what are you gonna do? Kill me and her?”

“What? No!” Chuck shouts. “What, you think we’re as bad as those psychos out there?”

“Well, she did mug us of our Zombrex.” Frank mutters.

“Hey asshole, we all need this stuff lately!” The red-head yells, making it obvious that the wounded girl next to her was infected. Chuck just sighs and lowers his rifle.

“Look, we’re not gonna kill ya, but why the hell are you going off mugging people here? If you’d just said ‘Hey, buddy! My friend’s been bitten, can you please help?’ I would have brought you two back to the safe house.”

“Yeah, sure, trust some random guy who robs a pharmacy on the first day, that’s smart.” She says sarcastically. “Look, you wanna know why I mugged you? Fine, simple answer: She just got attacked by those things down there, when we got seperated from...well...from our guardians. I’m sure as hell not gonna let someone turn into those freaks, especially after all the shit we’ve been through, alright?”

“...Admirable for a kid your age.” says Frank. “Look, sorry for the whole ‘keep you at gunpoint’ deal alright, but we need that Zombrex. I need it, and Chuck’s kid needs it as well. How much did you use?”

“Only a single dose.” the girl says. “And it’s Ellie, alright? Not ‘kid’.”

“Alright. Ellie. I’m Frank, and this here is Chuck.” Frank states casually. “Whose, uh, the infected one?”

“Clementine.” Ellie states. Before she could continue Chuck sets the rifle on the ground, making sure the safety was left on as he did so.

“Look, we can take you two to the safe house. We got plenty of food, water, and even some Zombrex on the side. What do ya say?” Ellie seems to hesitate for a moment, considering her options.

“...This safe house...is it secure? No one’s looking to rob the place in our sleep.”

“It’s locked by a blast door, and the only way to get in is a ventilation shaft that only me and Frank know about.”

“...One last thing...is...is there either a ‘Joel’ or a ‘Lee’ in there? Both are southern, one’s from Texas, the other’s from Georgia.”

“Don’t think we have, kid, but we’ll be sure to keep an eye out.” Frank states again.

“It’s Ellie, old-ass.” Ellie retorts, causing Chuck to suppress a laugh. Soon enough she grabs her rifle, straps it onto her back and says “Alright...well...I guess we have a deal then.”

“Right. Well...who's the one that will carry her?” Frank motions to Clementine, who would still be lying on a bloodied sleeping bag. Ellie would quickly chime in, before anyone else could make a decision.

“I will. Made sure she made it outta that initial shit storm, might as well make sure she gets out of it again.”

“...Suit yourself then.” Says Frank, who then turns to Chuck. “Alright Chuck, grab what you can and let's get back.”

“Sure thing, Mister Frank.” Chuck says in a sarcastic tone. With that in mind, he goes over to retrieve his stolen bag of supplies while Ellie kneels down next to the wounded Clementine.

“Alright, Clem, I know this will suck, but I need you to get up for me alright?” All she would get as a response was another groan. Sighing, Ellie wraps Clementine’s arm around her neck, and gently stands her up. She then looks over to the two adults, who’ve re-armed themselves with an assortment of weaponry, and she nods.

“Alright. _Let's get the hell outta here._ ”


	2. Good Times Never Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having made it back safely to the safehouse, Frank decides to do an interview with Ellie. It wouldn't be a story without her side, at the very least...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeeeey it's yo boy again.
> 
> While I suffer through college and a minor writer's block, I decided to add a little flavor into this one shot, so it wouldn't leave it as just a cliffhanger. It felt pretty kickass to write a  
> Backstory like this, and I'm hoping it'll help with breaking this minor block I'm having. Anyways, enjoy the read my dudes.

Chapter 2: Good Times Never Last

 

Ellie would find herself sticking close to Clementine once the two had made it back to the safehouse with Chuck and Frank. They led her to a small room fit with a couch, a small TV, and a security monitor table. She helped Clementine over to the couch, where a small, blonde-haired girl would watch silently. A second later a red-headed woman turns around to see Chuck and Frank right next to them.

    “...So that's who mugged you, Chuck? Two girls?”

    “Yeah.” Chuck says bluntly. “They're gonna stay here for a while, at least until we find their parents.”

    “They're not our parents.” Ellie would say as she checked on Clementine’s bandages, noting how the red-headed woman kept eyeing the two from where she sat.

    “...Well, glad to see they're alright. Just hope that Sullivan doesn't freak out over...well...you know…” She motions her head over to Clementine, of which Ellie soon catches wind of.

    “If he so much as touches her, I will put a bullet between his eyes!” She yells.

    “Hey! Easy kid!” Frank yells back. “No one is gonna do anything, alright? Not on our watch, anyways.”

It doesn’t help much that everyone was quite on edge. Even the little girl, who runs over to Chuck once Ellie starts yelling at Frank.

    “...Daddy, why are they angry?” She asked, to which Chuck would respond with a small, quiet sigh.

    “It’s complicated, Katey. Here, why don’t you go get us something to drink. I’m sure our new arrivals will need it.”

With a quiet nod, Katey would quickly run out of the surveillance room, just in time as Ellie starts to get aggressive again.

    “So this ‘Sullivan’ guy, he just throws people out? Just like that? Gee, thanks for absolutely nothing guys.”

    “Will you just relax?!” Frank yells. “No one is gonna get thrown out of here, like, I, said!”

    “Yeah, fucker?! I’m not really seeing any proof here!” She yells back.

    “Hey! Both of you, chill out and shut up!” Chuck would finally interject, and so far it seems to quiet the both of them down. In fact, the whole room would go dead quiet, save for the pained moaning that came from Clementine.

    “Look, things are rough, I get it-We, get it. Thing is though, you’re giving people quite a few reasons to throw you out in the first place.”

    “Once again, thanks for nothing.” Ellie says in a sarcastic tone.

    “And your smart-ass remarks aren’t gonna help you, either.” Chuck snaps. “Now, we brought you here because...well, I’m not just gonna leave two kids to die out in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. We’re human nonetheless, so if you could just keep it down with the yelling, then things will go smoothly from here on out, alright?”

Reluctantly, Ellie would look around to study the people in front of her. She already had a beat on Chuck and Frank: sarcastic, but helpful, and somewhat kind despite the snarky attitudes. The perfect duo, she thought to herself…

Then there was Stacey Forsyth.

No matter what, she couldn’t read who she was. She was distant, yet she socialized with Chuck and Frank with ease. She seemed generally nice, but for all that Ellie could care for, it almost felt fake, out of necessity almost - something that put the girl on edge.

Finally, she looks over at Clementine - that poor girl covered in Zombie bites. She patched her up as best as she could, but with no painkiller in sight the girl writhed in pain right next to her.

She was incapable of doing much in her state.

So, Ellie finally gives off a small, stressful sigh, and throws her hands into the air.

    “Fine. Let’s just get to business, alright?”

 

Soon afterwards, some ground rules were set up for Ellie and her companion. For the most part, they couldn’t access the Zombrex supply without either Chuck or Frank’s permission, and even then only when it was time to take Clementine’s daily dosage. They also weren’t allowed to keep their own weapons - something that Sullivan made clear as day, once he was notified of their arrival. Finally Ellie would have to perform small duties, due to her outbursts prior to making this deal.

Reluctantly Ellie would agree to everything, for Clementine’s sake at least. For now, though, she kept herself close to Clementine, making sure her bandages were clean and that she was getting taken care of.

It intrigued Frank no less, watching the two bond...despite Ellie being the only one that was talking to Clementine. The painkillers given to her were only of a small dosage, due to her young age, so she was still unable to talk much. Nevertheless, Frank would find himself taking a picture here and there of Ellie and Clementine until he was called out by Chuck.

    “And I thought I’d never see the day you’d stoop that low. Career must be stagnant as well if you’re having to take pictures here.”

    “Yeah? Well it makes for a good story, anyways.” Frank responds. “Two kids, surviving out in the middle of a full-fledged Zombie Apocalypse. You could make a book or two out of that.

    “Just leave them be.” Says Chuck, walking closer to Frank to make his point clear. “They’ve been through enough shit, and I rather not cause any more problems with them right now, alright? You’re already in the barrel for what went down earlier.”

    “Hey, again, it makes for a good story, Chuck. If you were a freelance journalist like me, you’d know that getting everyone’s story here makes for great coverage.”

    “That’s only when you’re not just taking photos.”

Once Chuck finally leaves, Frank would look back over to Ellie to see her staring back at him.

    “Ah, shit.” Frank mutters to himself. Seeing as how it would only make things worse to just leave it at that, Frank quickly walks into the surveillance room.

    “Hey, look what you saw out there? Not what you think.”

    “...Should I even ask what you’re talking about?” Ellie asks in a disgruntled tone.

    “...What, you didn’t see what was going on out there?”

    “Only saw you and Chuck having a heart-to-heart out there, nothing more.” Ellie states, focusing her attention back onto Clementine. With a small sigh of relief, Frank would sit himself down in front of the two girls, clasping his hands together.

    “So...what’s your story? You and the little kid here.”

    “How many goddamn times to I have to tell you, her name is Clementine.”

    “Clementine, right, got it. Anyways, the question.”

Ellie paused for a moment. She didn’t really think she’d had to ever answer a question like that for a while. Sure she thought about it once when she found herself in Fortune City with Joel, but nothing like this. She turns back to Frank, pausing once again to think.

    “...My story? Like, what, my autobiography or something?”

    “Well, more like how you two ended up here. Other details are fine, but a straight answer would be nice.”

    “Well...shit let me think…” Ellie pondered on the question for quite a while...which she would answer with a bit more confidence this time around.

 

_“Well...it all started in Las Vegas...when the zombies got loose.”_

 

I was...well, alone for a majority of the time in the city. Did what I could, scavenged what I could dig up...ate what I had to eat...stuff you’d normally hear a homeless person do, with the exception of shanking a guy for some cash. No, I was just...living the dream, I guess.

Then...well...then the zombies came.

It was quiet, at first. You’d normally think that after one outbreak you’d hear about this kind of stuff all over the news, but that was far from it here. People were turning up missing left and right, mostly tourists and...well, the homeless of course. I was freaking out during that, thinking it was just a string of muggings or whatever...but then things got serious. Way more serious. By day two...or day three, I think, is when things started going from bad to shit-faced in an instant. It got bad.

Real bad.

Somehow, a full-on outbreak got out into the center of Las Vegas, with a few cases spread out everywhere else. It was...it was pretty hectic. You had people running for their lives, some grabbed what they could to fight back, but mostly everyone was trying to get away from it all.

That's when I met Joel.

I ran through a shit ton of alleyways just to get out of the epicenter, but you know how things are in a zombie apocalypse: Nothing ever goes your way. I was caught off-guard by a Zombie during my sprint through the alleyways and...well, I would of been dead, were it not for Joel sending a hammer into the fucker’s skull. He got me outta that hellhole, managed to hole up in this...uh...think it was a warehouse, made for storing construction supplies. Eventually we got to know each other for a bit, I kept the whole ‘homeless’ thing under wraps, but I got to know what he did before everything went to hell. He was a carpenter...I think. Like the guys you see building houses, or something along those lines. Turns out he was working for a contractor in Vegas, building...well, something obviously, until the zombies started eating people alive.

Anyways, I’m getting side-tracked here. We stayed there until morning with a plan that involved finding ourselves a car to drive our way out of the city. Only issue was that we had a few days to get out before the military came sweeping through.

The plan was simple enough: Head out towards where the houses were, search for a car on the way, then drive out. So we busted our asses doing exactly that, and guess what: We didn't find jack shit. Turns out everyone else in the inner city had the same idea and got out as soon as possible. It's that, or any other car we managed to find was either broken, had its tires removed, or had their batteries stolen. We searched everywhere, until we got to this pharmacy. We had a lucky break with this truck - old, kinda beaten up, but it looked useable. We were about to get in and drive off when we heard someone cocking a gun in the store.

Turns out the owner of the truck was still alive, and they had friends.

This was also where I first met Clementine.

When things got settled down we were invited into this place. So far there were only three people: An old southern dude named Kenny, another guy named Lee, and Clementine. We introduced ourselves, got to know each other a bit, and recouped after that whole experience was said and done. I got to know Clementine quite a bit during the time I spent with her group. She was...eight at the time, I think, she’s maybe nine now but before then she came up to Vegas with her parents for...something. I don't remember exactly what, maybe a vacation, probably her just moving to a new place. Whatever it was, she just got away from all that shit when Lee found her hiding in a kitchen cupboard.

Now if I remember correctly, Lee was - or is - a history professor, formerly in Georgia but he now worked in Nevada. Only thing I can recall when I asked was that he came up to get the job when things went to hell.

Sorry, I’m getting sidetracked again...now...we figured out that Kenny’s truck was in need of some gas. Sounded simple enough, right? Well, when you factor in the millions of Zombies, the Military Sweep, and a few crazies just for good measure, things don't usually go your way.

Joel and I were the first to go out, seeing as how he had some expertise in siphoning gas. How he knew this despite being a construction worker...I will never know, but we got to siphoning the gas pretty quickly.

But did you honestly expect us to get away that easily? I wish that would've happened, but instead we get shit to deal with.

So after we got enough gas, we got back to the pharmacy to see some crazy guy holding up near the truck. It was obvious that the guy was a pure loon - big, chubby as hell, looked like a biker out of Mad Max. He had this...pitchfork shotgun or whatever it was, and he was going ballistic. Shot a shit ton of Zombies and walkers and whatever else these people were calling them, not giving a single shit about us.

Well, until he ran out of Zombies to shoot.

We were about ready to bail the hell outta there when the guy came walking up to us, asking if we’ve seen any more zombies nearby. Joel told him to go to the city center, but he was somehow sane enough to know that going there was a terrible idea. Shit was tense...I mean, REALLY tense...as in if you dropped a bolt in front of this guy he probably would have shot you. After Joel told him that stuff he just...leaned on real close, smelling like ass and gasoline and what not, and he just mutters…

    “Best keep an eye out for them live ones. They’s turn on yeah in an instant!”

He just laughs like a maniac after that, and we just sped off soon after.

That's how I got to know Lee and Clementine...we became good friends after that shit...and...well, it was kinda hard to get back into the swing of things after all that. Lee offered me a place to stay, alongside with Clementine, but...well, having gotten to know Joel during all of that, it was a hard decision to make. Still...I guess I chose Joel, knowing how we had more experience with each other…

 

    “So, you wanna get to the part where you two ended up in Fortune City?”

    “Yeah, have a little patience, asshole. I’m getting to that part.”

 

So...where to begin...this was maybe a few months after everything that happened in Vegas. We kept in contact with Lee and Clementine, hell they practically lived with us from time to time...then Joel had the idea to take a visit to Fortune City. He found a contractor willing to have him build a few things for their...well, you know. Though, let's be fair, this place wasn't for me or Clementine, we kinda didn't have a choice. Why I say that is because, conveniently, Lee found himself _another_ college looking to take him in, even after the whole deal with Vegas. Even Kenny decided to come up with us since...well, I won't go into detail here, but he was good to have around.

So, we got to Fortune City, Kenny took us over to the places that we wanted to go to while Lee and Joel did their things...we were...uh...shit I forgot what it was we were looking for, but the moment we entered the shopping district is when we heard a loud explosion, coming from that arena those guys built. Next thing we knew...it was Vegas all over again…

Kenny was the first to realize this, and he did his best to get us as far away from the center as possible. Only thing is, well, there were a lot of zombies...they surrounded the whole area and...sorry, give me a second here…

...you see, Kenny...he didn't make it. He got us out and away from it, only to get attacked by those damn things. I had to drag Clementine away as those fuckers ripped him apart...Jesus it was...it was bad…

Sorry...uh...Anyways, we managed to hole ourselves up in the theater, and...well, our best plan was to wait everything out. Then...well, we ran out of food to eat, on our second day of hiding out no less. So, I did what I thought was best at the time...I gave Clementine a bat, and told her that if those zombies got in she would get to someplace safe.

God, that was the worst decision I ever made in my life...

I got outta there, made my way to a nearby pizzeria and stocked up on what I could grab. When everything was accounted for, I snuck my way back to the theatre...and...well, that's when I noticed the doors were wide open.

 

_I still remember that shit, all in crystal detail. It's like a playback at this point…_

 

I made my way inside, quietly of course, until I was able to shut the door.

    “...Clementine?” I called out...got no response in return. I felt my heart beating outta my chest at this point. Something was clearly wrong, and it only made things worse when I didn't get a response. I grabbed my rifle - what I had on me at the time - and made my way inside…

There were two corpses on the ground, just to the left of the hallway leading out to the exit. They were zombies...and then it finally hit me.

    “...Oh shit…” I muttered.

Then I heard Clementine scream.

    “CLEM!” I yelled back, sprinting my ass over to the source. When I got to where she was I...I saw those fucking things taking large bites out of her. I must of went into full panic mode, because a moment later I found myself bashing their goddamn heads in. After that was said and done, I quickly crawled over to Clementine.

    “Oh shit, oh shit oh shit oh shit oh fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!” I muttered. She...she got it pretty bad. They bit into her arms, her right leg, her left shoulder...her hip… she had scratches all over her...it was like looking at...a survivor of a bear attack, if you can believe it...for a moment it was like I was watching someone close dying in my arms...seeing as how, well, once you're bit...there wasn't really any other way you were coming back from that.

I got her some bandages, wrapped her wounds up as best as I could’ve...barricaded the hell out of the front doors, and promised her that I’d take care of her...with the first step being to grab some Zombrex.

 

_You kinda know what happens after that._

 

Ellie would fall silent for a long while, with Frank also keeping quiet as to be respectful. Afterwards, he would finally break the silence that formed.

    “I, uh...I’m sorry you both had to go through that...it must've been tough…”

    “Tough doesn't begin to describe all of this.” Ellie would mutter. “It’s just…she's like a little sister to me, you know? When we got separated from Lee and Joel, I promised her that we would be alright. Now…? Now she's...gotta take this shitty drug for the rest of her life.” She looks down at an empty box of Zombrex, tossing it away from the couch she sat in.

    “Hey. You did what you could do, kid. Can't go blaming yourself over everything”

    “Yeah? Well I appreciate that you're actually giving a shit, guy, but that doesn't change the fact that she won't be able to do normal shit ever again…”

    “Doesn't mean you can't try your best to give her one.” Frank says in a lowered voice. He then stands himself up, dusting off his pants as he did so.

    “Anyways...thanks for the interview. I'll uh...me and Chuck will keep an eye out for those two guys you mentioned, Lee and Joel, alright?” With a confirmatory nod, Frank would leave Ellie alone with Clementine, who would be sleeping soundly next to her. She leans back in the couch for a moment, scooting a little closer to Clementine out of habit, and soon enough she would begin to feel her eyelids grow heavy. Eventually it would reach the point where she finally falls asleep next to Clementine, hoping that she wasn't suffering as much as before…

  
_She hoped that they would get out unscathed once before. That died when she was first bitten._


End file.
